New York Giants not scared off by Aaron Rodgers’ Pat McAfee appearances

If the New York Giants sign Aaron Rodgers, it doesn’t sound like they’ll lose any sleep over his appearances on The Pat McAfee Show.

Longtime Giants beat reporter and columnist for The Record Art Stapleton joined The Pat McAfee Show Thursday afternoon. According to Stapleton, the “Giants are significantly interested in Aaron Rodgers,” adding, “I don’t think it would be a shock to people if he was the Giants quarterback next season.”

This was news, even to McAfee, who has a relationship with Rodgers thanks to the polarizing quarterback making weekly paid appearances on his show for the last five NFL seasons. But more important than the Giants’ interest in Rodgers might be their interest in letting him continue appearing on McAfee’s show. And according to Stapleton, that doesn’t seem to be a potential sticking point.

“My understanding is that the Giants are significantly interested in Aaron Rodgers..

I don’t think it would be a shock to people if he was the Giants Quarterback next season”@art_stapleton #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/VTLCpavy4d

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 6, 2025

“My understanding is yes, they have talked about what it would take to get Aaron here with the Giants, to not leave New Jersey,” Stapleton told McAfee. “And my understanding is that at every turn, the Giants have yet to be scared off by the idea of Aaron Rodgers coming on some show every Tuesday. It seems like everybody wants that to be the big issue.”

That’s because it reportedly was a big issue for the Jets and their new regime, led by first-time general manager Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the Jets told Rodgers he would have to stop appearances with McAfee if they decided to run it back with the quarterback for a third season. Mougey, however, denied that report, claiming the Jets never gave Rodgers an ultimatum or rules of engagement.

Ultimately, we’ll never know if the Jets would have let Rodgers appear with McAfee next season, because they opted to part ways with the 41-year-old.

Maybe the Giants won’t have an issue with Rodgers going on McAfee’s show if they reach an agreement with the four-time NFL MVP. But they shouldn’t give Rodgers the same leeway the Jets did. When the Jets acquired Rodgers in 2023, they handed him the keys to the franchise because they thought they were getting an MVP-caliber quarterback.

Whether due to age or injury, those years appeared to have passed Rodgers by. NFL franchises will deal with diva players when they’re productive. But once the player’s productivity slips, so will the organization’s tolerance.